Entries for 'Rev Jules'

Articles

Live in Kilkee, Co. Clare, 13th September 2009
Review Snapshot: Due to a tyre puncture on the way back from a surf session in neighbouring Doonbeg, yours truly was unavoidably delayed en route to the evening festivities in Kilkee, arriving in the Big Top just in time to see Stereo MCs walk on stage. Whew!
The Cluas Verdict? 9 out of 10
Full Review:
Stereo MCs: Looking around at the young wans who were waving their hands in the air to dance anthems such as ‘Black Gold’ and ‘Step it Up’ it was sobering to realise that a good proportion of them probably weren’t
born when Stereo MCs released their first album. Once again the crisp, clean and loud sound mix that was a hallmark of this year’s festival proved a boon to the groovy tunes of a group who mix infectious beats with upfront, if stripped down, political statements. The only question was, why schedule them on the Sunday, when so many attendees were heading home for work on the Monday... [Read on]

Cois Fharraige Day Two (live in Kilkee, Co. Clare)
Review Snapshot: There were thousands of people walking around Kilkee on Saturday sporting the latest in surf fashion but in the water at Lahinch, Spanish Point and Doonbeg you could count the surfers on two hands. Meanwhile back at the festival, The Hold Steady, Noah and The
Whale and Newton Faulkner served up some savage musical entertainment
The Cluas Verdict? 9 out of 10
Full Review:
The Hold Steady
Looking like the cast of Seinfeld decided to form a band, the anxious nerd rock of The Hold Steady proved the perfect antidote to the mellow
sunlit vibes that have blessed the festival thus far, with ‘Stay Positive’ being a crowd highlight. The band’s hard chugging sound and neuroses laced lyrics were an unusual counterpoint to a festival that, thus far, has aimed for a balance between very serious rock and music that you can drink to. If you are the sort of person who curses the sunshine and stays ... [Read on]

Day One of Cois Fharraige (live in Kilkee, Co. Clare)
Review Snapshot: A beautiful sunny day ended with a blistering set by epic rockers Doves, grooves from Laura Izibor and post punk larking around courtesy of The Blizzards).
The Cluas Verdict? 9 out of 10
Full Review:
Laura Izibor
Presently touring with a crack American band, Izibor delivered a pumping set of beefed up versions of the highlights of her debut album. The live setting and the crisp, clear sound gave added power to crowd favourites, ‘From My heart To Yours’, ‘Carousel’ and ‘Yes, I’ll be Your Baby’, but it was a stonking version of ‘Shine’, transformed from a feel good summer tune to a grooving, funky anthem that best demonstrated Izibor’s ability to transfer her mellow, laid back soul into a live arena.
The Blizzards
Coming on stage bathed in purple light and accompanied by moody background music, the cheeky chappies of The Blizzards wast... [Read on]

A review of the album 'Moment of Forever' by Willie Nelson
Review Snapshot:
The last wise man of country music delivers the goods yet again.
The Cluas Verdict? 8 out of 10
Full Review:
Johnny is gone; Waylon is gone, only Willie is left. It’s hard to conceive now, given his superstardom, but Willie Nelson spent 15 years in Nashville trying in vain to get a hit record before throwing in his hat and returning to Texas where he finally started to create music that was not only true to his own creative vision but also connected with the album buying public.
According to Robert Oermann and Douglas Green, part of Willie’s early difficulty was that his offbeat, eccentric, jazz influenced phrasing was at cross purposes with then dominant Nashville sound pioneered by Chet Atkins. The flipside of this however is that, as a result, Willie Nelson has never been solely a country music artist but rather an American music artist ... [Read on]

Review Snapshot:
The Enemy is an anagram of The Jam.
The Cluas verdict? 3 out of 10
Full Review:
Did you know that The Enemy is an anagram of Paul Weller and The Jam? Nope, neither did I. When I first put on this album I must admit I thought I was going to love it especially when the first lyric I heard was, “Call the police, cos things are getting ugly”. At last a proper rock ‘n roll record, full of bile, anger and big guitars. But then, as I listened and listened again to this debut in my car, something strange started to happen. I began to hum along, but not to the actual songs on the record. Nope, I began to hum along to Jam classics such as ‘That’s Entertainment’, ‘Going Underground’ and ‘Town Called Malice’.
Something funny has happened in modern pop music, where once bands did everything in their power to create a unique sound quite unlike anyone else, now they strive to create a sound so similar to a... [Read on]

CLUAS Verdict: 8 out of 10
Prince once again demonstrates why he is the pre-eminent popular musician in American life on this big name tribute to 1970s songwriter Joni Mitchell
Originally planned for release in the 1990s, this tribute to Joni Mitchell by some of the biggest names in the music business such as Elvis Costello, Brad Meldhu, k.d lang, Annie Lennox and her former lover James Taylor conforms to type by being neither flesh nor fowl. Lovers of Mitchell's spare arrangements and tensed up, anguished vocals will find these interpretations over produced and slick and fans of the contributing artists will equally wonder why their heroes recorded songs by an artist better known for her lyrics than her melodies. The low point of this record is an appaling rendtion of 'The Boho Dance' by Bjork and the absolute highlight is 'A Case of You' by Prince which flows out of the speakers like Manuka honey. The man is a solid gold genius and this cut sounds like it ... [Read on]